Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Surprise!

This past weekend, Michael surprised me with a party to celebrate my 30th birthday. 30 years. Wow! I had no idea at all, and was totally caught off-guard. I thought we were going to have dinner with friends, and instead we walked into their house filled with my parents, my sister and her fiance, and all my closest friends. We had kids running around, babies crying, a steady steam of women heading upstairs to nurse babies, montiors on to keep track of the napping infants, a run to the emergency room for one dad and son..and it was awesome.



We are blessed beyond words to have these friends. How many people can say their mom would come home from a weeklong vacation and help make food for a surprise party less than 24 hours later? How many friends would offer to host a party at their house, clean, decorate, cook, and put together a video photo show with three kids at home including a 9 week old baby?? How many womeon would venture out into the cold with an 8-day-old baby to share in the celebration?



Needless to say...I am blessed. To be in this environment, surrounded by so much love and caring, to hear the support and encouragement and shared advice, to know these are the people we can go to at any time for any reason when we need them...there are no words to describe the goodness that existed in that place. Such warmth, such love, these are things you don't find often in our world today. No pushing to get ahead, no need to self-promote, to keep up with the Joneses, to prove your worth, just the relaxed atmosphere of coming home to a place where you are truly accepted, appreciated, and loved just for who you are, every hour of every day.



I love you all.

On a side note, this party was on the anniversary of the day last winter when we sat in a cabin in Hocking Hills and told most of these people that I was pregnant. In January we shared that news, in February Tim had a surprise party for Robyn, closely followed by Connie and Katie finding out they were pregnant. Then came Erin's pregnancy, then Tricia's, then the birth of our baby, a surprise party for Michael, the birth of Connie's baby, Katie's baby, Erin's baby, a surprise party for Tim, Robyn's pregnancy, the birth of Tricia's baby, a surprise party for me. Wow, that makes me tired just thinking about it. Can't imagine what the next 12 months will bring...